MSNBC host offers tearful apology to Romneys
Updated 1:49 p.m., 1/4/2014
(CNN) - MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry made a tearful apology to Mitt Romney’s family on her show Saturday, after she and a panel poked fun at a photo of the former Republican presidential candidate with his wife and 21 grandchildren by zeroing in on his adopted African-American grandson.
"Whatever the intent was, the reality is that the segment proceeded in a way that was offensive, and showing the photo in that context, of that segment, was poor judgment. So without reservation or qualification, I apologize to the Romney family," said the anchor at the open of her show, "Melissa Harris-Perry."
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Harris-Perry became emotional as she went on to apologize to all "other families formed through transracial adoption," saying, "I am deeply sorry that we suggested that interracial families are in any way funny or deserving of ridicule."
She highlighted her own interracial background, as the daughter of an African-American man and a white Mormon woman. But, she said, families are always "off limits," and the Romneys' grandchildren should never have been a topic of discussion.
"Adults who enter into public life implicitly consent to having less privacy. But their families, and especially their children, should not be treated callously or thoughtlessly. My intention was not malicious, but I broke the ground rule that families are off limits, and for that I am sorry," she said.
Harris-Perry first apologized on Twitter and MSNBC's website Tuesday, offering a similar mea culpa "without reservation or qualification."
During the segment last Sunday, Harris-Perry asked a panel to come up with a caption for the Romney family photo, and two panelists made jokes about the infant standing out.
Actress Pia Glenn began singing lines from the song popularized by Sesame Street, "One of These Things Is Not Like the Others." Comedian Dean Obeidallah said the picture "really sums up the diversity of the Republican Party."
Obeidallah appears frequently on CNN and writes a regular opinion column for CNN.com.
Harris-Perry described the baby as "gorgeous" and joked that in 2040 he would marry North West, the daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
"Can you imagine Mitt Romney and Kanye West as in-laws?" she said, to laughs.
Criticism was swift across social media, with prominent Republicans from Sarah Palin to former Sen. Scott Brown weighing in.
A spokeswoman for Romney told CNN he was on a family vacation this week and unavailable for comment. On Sunday, Romney will appear on “Fox News Sunday,” where he is likely to be asked about the episode.
MSNBC has been in some hot water recently after a handful of their hosts have made controversial comments. Alec Baldwin and the network parted ways in November after his homophobic outburst against photographers, and Martin Bashir resigned in December for his suggestion that Sarah Palin deserved graphic punishment for comparing U.S. foreign debt to slavery.
–CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
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Fire her...we need to start standing up to these oppressive people.
She needs to go. MHP has been using MSNBC to spread hate and cause division amongst races since the shoe started, the only difference is this time she incensed her base. Sorry, but she needs to go and I will not support a single one of her sponsors.
What the liberal cant seem to understand is that Republicans discuss behaviors and whether the behaviors are positive or negative. Democrats just attack individuals in ad hominem attacks.
At long last…a liberal does the right thing.
Obama and many others play the race card every day...
Jessie Jackson loves the game....
@VoteForPedro: I always read this type of comment "Difference between MSNBC and FOX?
MSNBC apologies for transgressions & insults." But I have yet to find solid evidence of this actually being true. Could you provide a case that holds up in comparative analysis?
Time to bring out the color much deserved by this woman and the panel – pink slips. Being a person of color does not mean getting a pass on racism! Fire them all. It is about time the D [party started walking the walk!
@Bradley Olson; So enlighten us all, why did the Romney's buy a black baby? Go ahead and spell it out.
A white male would have been fired
Some comments have already noted that MSNBC apologies for things like this. Fox? . . .(sound of crickets chirping).
MSNBC lately has been openly billing itself as "progressive." "Fair and balanced" Fox?. . . (more crickets)
you believe her, you believe anything ...imbecile
Clearly she should resign or be terminated.
who cares about msnbc? don't even know what channel it's on. i like my news from news stations.
what a nice looking famiy
I just watched what the uproar is about. I have no idea why people are mad. She did and said nothing wrong. WTH is the matter with people?? She did nothing wrong.
The TV rating would have been up if the network would have canned her. What kind of people do they hire? Bunch of nimrods who cannot figure out what is going to happen before they speak. I guess I ask for too much intellect here!
Its not hard to figure out there are areas that are off limits in subject matter and in this case an adopted child irregardless of race but worse because that became a side issue as well. Apology indeed. Fire the whole staff and get new people.
She can think this over while cleaning toilets or filing papers which would be an upgrade.
She should be 'tearfully' saying GOODBYE. Its either her or the entire MSNBC network.
What a cry baby!Why don't you stand your ground?That's what's wrong with this country.If you're gonna say it,own it!
@Brian who asked ..."please enlighten us when one of Fox's major commentators made fun of a family (including
the child) who adopted a minority child"
-----
How conveniently limiting your question is. Here's a few facts regarding children of politicians and comments
made by "Fox news contributors"...............
1. Glenn Beck mocking Malia Obama while on Faux News, May 28, 2010
2. Hannity complaining about the Obama girls taking two vacations, (and then being called insane by
Kristen Powers for his absurdity), April 1, 2013
3. The power behind Faux News Rush Limbaugh saying the President should allow the TSA "groppers"
show his daughters how they "grope" people at airports, or showing a picture of Chelsea Clinton
saying "the White House has a dog", 1993............
The list is long and disgusting................ and not one word of apology nor any like you asking for one, except
for Beck (shocking, I know).
Have a nice day in your in your narrow little world of IOIYAR to make demeaning comments.
Serves her right really, all of the feigned outrage over the white "racists" and her indignation at the Zimmerman verdict. How ironic she turns out to delve into the racist game as the people she lambasts. She must wake up in the middle of the night in hysterics over this, career ending move.
What an idiot. I'm a liberal, but it appears the right doesn't have a hegemony over stupid
I wonder how many children, of a race other than their own, have Ms. Harris-Perry and her panel adopted? Being all liberals, I'm pretty certain they'd rather worry about abortion rights instead.
At least MSNBC anchors actually apologize. And none of this "IF my comments offended you I apologize" stuff you get from the right wing, which puts the onus on the person complaining and not the one who made the gaff. No, in this case, she outright apologized, and who are you all to say it is fake? Daily I read disgusting racist comments about the Obama's, Trayvon, etc. and all of a sudden you are oh, so offended by this? Yeah, right!
Hard to tell which is more disgusting, the original snark or the people who see nothing wrong with it.
Enough with the mudslinging and finger- pointing! She said something stupid and she apologized. ANYBODY – whether liberal OR conservative – should do the right thing. And then we forgive and move on. Tearing her apart and then turning on each other isn't the right way to handle something like this. Supposedly grown adults ripping into each other rather than discussing things calmly. It's like watching a shark feeding frenzy.